92 GAMES IN 39 DAYS
Premier League will return on June 17 with all games shown on TV
FINALLY, people can put the date in their diary. Football is back – on June 17.
The go-ahead for Premier League football to return was finally given yesterday at a video conference of the clubs and the League, ending weeks of wrangling.
The long-awaited first games will be played on Wednesday, June 17, when Aston Villa will face Sheffield United and Manchester City meet Arsenal.
Those are the two games “in hand”, after which all teams will have played 29 matches – and then a full programme will start on Friday, June 19, when it is expected that the game between Tottenham and Manchester United will be scheduled.
The rest of the first round of games will then be played on Saturday and Sunday June 20 and 21, with matches staggered over the two days, and with every game being televised in a bumper package.
Fans have been starved of action since Premier League football was called to a halt on March 13 – as the Covid-19 pandemic hit the UK.
But Premier League chief executive Richard Masters, below, said: “We have provisionally agreed to resume the Premier League on Wednesday, June 17. “But this date cannot be confirmed until we have met all the safety requirements needed as the health and welfare of all participants and fans is our priority.
“Sadly, matches will have to take place in stadiums
without fans, so we are pleased to have come up with a positive solution for supporters to be able to watch all the remaining 92 matches.
“The Premier League and our clubs are proud to have incredibly passionate and loyal supporters. It is important to ensure as many people as possible can watch the matches at home.”
Clubs now have just three weeks to get their players ready for action – with the Premier League wanting their entire programme completed by the weekend of August 1-2.
The FA Cup final is now scheduled to be played on August 8. The proposals are expected to be ratified at the next Premier League shareholders’ meeting, on June 4.
Most players returned to full contact training yesterday, after Phase Two of Project Restart was agreed on Monday.
Most of the remaining 92 games will be played at their original venues – but 12 matches have been identified as being high profile, and, after consultation with police, they will be played at neutral venues.
It has been agreed that all derby matches will now be played at neutral venues, because of police concerns about crowds gathering.
Sky will be showing 64 of the games, with the other 25 being shared free to air between BT Sport, Amazon Prime and four on the BBC – the first time that live Premier League matches will be shown on terrestrial television
However, London Mayor Sadiq Khan, below, last night said: “Safety is what matters in this.We don’t want Premier League clubs to have supporters congregating.
“We’ve got Tottenham v Arsenal coming up. It’s really important that the clubs work with police and others to make sure that we get this right.”
Other issues discussed yesterday included proposals to decide league placings on an unweighted points-per-game system should the season have to be curtailed. The TV rebate is also going to be reduced from £340million to £170m if the season can be finished on time, while the transfer window will not now open until the season has finished.
Twelve people have tested positive for coronavirus after 2,752 tests across the league so far. Premier League players and staff will continue to be tested twice a week as the game in England begins to return to some kind of normality.